At about 1400 on 16 January, two large formations approached Malta from the north and the east comprising 17 Ju88s escorted by Bf110s, and a total of 44 Ju87s in five waves escorted by ten MC200s and ten CR42s. From the ground the sight of the approaching raid was awesome:

“Thursday was a bright, sunny January day … It was 1.55pm when the alarm sounded. The Stukas came in waves. More and more flew into sight. And as they drew into range the Malta barrage was heard in all its strength for the first time in history. The heavies from the forts opened up with a reverberating roar. The guns round the Harbour area joined in with tremendous emphasis. The Navy’s guns transformed the uproar into a stunning crescendo of sound. Through the symphony of gunfire could be heard the menacing drone of the Junkers as they raced towards their objective. The crash and clamour of the barrage was sharpened by a new note as the leading Stukas dipped their noses towards Parlatorio Wharf and dived into the maelstrom of steel, name and smoke. With the whine of the dive … came the accompanying rush of the bombs as the Germans released them from their racks in the direction of the Illustrious, now hardly visible behind a pall of smoke and spouting columns of water.

The entire island rocked to the shock of the battle. The thud of the heavy stuff which the Junkers were dropping, the roar of the bombs as they exploded, and the rumbling crash of falling masonry as Senglea and Vittoriosa caught the weight of the enemy’s attack, completed an unforgettable sound-picture. The Stubs followed their squadron leaders in the screaming plunge into the inferno that was raging over the Creek. Some of them did not emerge. Hardly one came out unscathed, the defenders were just as tough as the attackers. It required nerve to stick to your guns with those thousand-pounders thudding and bursting around you, with those screaming furies diving over you. In spite of this danger, people looked on fascinated, watching the suicide tactics of the Germans. Others, in their shelters, rocked and swayed and wondered if this was the end of it all.”

Four Hurricanes and three Fulmars were scrambled as the bombers approached, but only the latter led by Lt(A) Barnes made a successful interception. They vectored on to the formation of II/LG1 Ju88s, of which they were credited with shooting down four and damaging three more: Sub Lt(A) Angus Hogg claimed two, Barnes one and at least one probable, and Sub Lt(A) Stan Orr (N1884) one. The Ju88 (L1+CT) flown by Oblt Kurt Pichler failed to return, six others crash-landed at Catania due to battle damage, and a seventh bomber force-landed at Pozzallo as a result of damage caused by AA fire. One of the Ju88s returned with two crew dead or dying and two wounded; another with three dead and one wounded, and a third with one dead and one wounded. Four of the aircraft were damaged beyond repair. The Hurricanes, meantime, had been directed to the wrong area. Maclachlan was still fuming when he later updated his diary:

“No sooner had the Ju87s gone than the radar picked up four more formations coming in at 10,000 feel. Diving almost vertically to 2,000 feet they released their bombs and slowly turned for home in ones and twos. There was the chance that every fighter pilot prays for – and still not a fighter to be seen. Chubby [Eliot] and I could stand it no longer … we rushed off to dispersals where we got into two reserve machines and asked permission to lake off. Imagine our consternation when we were told not to leave the ground. I’ve never come across such a panic-stricken, disorganised collection of incompetent lunatics as Fighter Control…”

The four Hurricanes returned with only two having actually encountered the enemy, causing Maclachlan to comment: “… out of 60 Ju88s and Ju87s we did not shoot down a kite. Honestly, I quit!” However, Illustrious had been missed by all but one bomb. Although the carrier had escaped major damage, the MV Essex received a direct hit causing an explosion in which 15 members of her crew and seven Maltese stevedores were killed, and others injured.

The fires were extinguished and work was resumed until all salvageable cargo had been unloaded; as far as can be determined, all the crated Hurricanes survived: ·

‘A short interval. Then came the second assault by the Stukas. Again the titanic duel. Again the heavens seemed to split. Again the Three Cities shuddered with the impact of bombs which had either overshot or undershot their mark. Again the Slukas appeared 10 flirt with death. And again they were beaten with heavy losses. A dive-bomber, badly hit, released its load of high explosives at random, before crashing into the sea. The bombs landed on a block of flats in Old Mint Street, Valetta, which collapsed with an ominous, rumbling noise [five killed, although over a dozen more were rescued including a baby and two children]. Another bomb crashed perilously near the Illustrious, hitting the flight-deck in its seaward dive. Part of the ancient bastions of the Knights of Senglea crumbled with a roar on the rocks below after a direct hit. The British fighters joined in the battle and put up a magnificent show against tremendous odds. In the heat of the fight they seemed to chase the planes right into our murderous barrage, bent on destroying their prey. After what seemed an eternity, but was in reality some fifteen minutes, the noise stopped and a strange silence reigned as the smoke of battle waffled out to sea, and the clouds of dust gradually settled thickly on the ground.’

During the attacks, dock installations and nearby houses suffered severe damage. Philip Vella’, then aged 13, later recalled:

“During the raid I was at home in Valetta. When it became clear that this was no ordinary attack, my mother told me and my sister Doris to run for it and lake cover in the crypt of a nearby church; there were no rock shelters in the vicinity. It is difficult to describe the din; it sounded as if hell had been let loose. The noise of exploding bombs, flak of all calibres, and the screeching wail of the diving Stukas was so scaring that people just stood where they were and froze. Suddenly we heard a terrific explosion: a row of houses two blocks away was flattened, some said by an aerial torpedo and others mentioned two bombs chained together. At that stage people panicked as they realised that the only shelter we had above our heads was a big empty dome. I do not remember how long the attack lasted, but it certainly seemed a long time. Our experience was insignificant compared to what people at Senglea went through – Willi Mizzi and 11 others were trapped for 48 hours under 40 feet of rubble.”

When the debris was removed and bodies recovered, the final toll for the day’s raids amounted to 53 killed and 36 injured, four of whom later died.